Weifeng Peng1, Lingyan Mao1, Dazhi Yin2, Wei Sun3, He Wang4, Qianqian Zhang1, Jing Wang1, Caizhong Chen3, Mengsu Zeng3, Jing Ding5, Xin Wang6. 1. Department of Neurology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. 2. Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China. 3. Department of Radiology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200031, China. 4. Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China. 5. Department of Neurology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: ding.jing@zs-hospital.sh.cn. 6. Department of Neurology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; The State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, The Institutes of Brain Science and the Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: wang.xin@zs-hospital.sh.cn.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Our study aimed to investigate the functional connectivity (FC) between the hippocampus and other brain regions in epilepsy patients with depressive symptoms. METHODS: Epilepsy patients with and without depressive symptoms, assessed using the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores, were enrolled. Healthy volunteers were recruited as the control group. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed, and the data were processed using Resting-State fMRI (DPARSFA2.0) software. The regional homogeneity (ReHo) values and the FC between the right hippocampus and other brain regions were analysed. RESULTS: The ReHo value of the cerebellum (particularly the left cerebellar hemisphere) was significantly lower in epilepsy patients than in healthy controls, and was lower in epilepsy patients with depressive symptoms (EP + DS group) than in those without depressive symptoms (EP-DS group, p < 0.05). Additionally, the FC between the right hippocampus and the bilateral cerebellum was significantly greater in the EP + DS group than in the EP-DS group (p < 0.05). Moreover, abnormal ReHo values in the bilateral frontal lobes, including the right anterior cingulate cortex, and changes in the FC between the right hippocampus and the bilateral frontal lobes were found in the EP + DS group. Minor changes in the FC between the temporal and parietal lobes were also found in the epilepsy patients. CONCLUSION: The functional right hippocampus-cerebellum circuit might contribute to the pathogenesis of depressive symptoms in epilepsy, with the exception of brain areas associated with emotion such as the frontal and temporal lobes. Modulating the hippocampus-cerebellum circuit is a potential therapeutic strategy for epilepsy patients with depressive symptoms.
PURPOSE: Our study aimed to investigate the functional connectivity (FC) between the hippocampus and other brain regions in epilepsypatients with depressive symptoms. METHODS:Epilepsypatients with and without depressive symptoms, assessed using the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores, were enrolled. Healthy volunteers were recruited as the control group. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed, and the data were processed using Resting-State fMRI (DPARSFA2.0) software. The regional homogeneity (ReHo) values and the FC between the right hippocampus and other brain regions were analysed. RESULTS: The ReHo value of the cerebellum (particularly the left cerebellar hemisphere) was significantly lower in epilepsypatients than in healthy controls, and was lower in epilepsypatients with depressive symptoms (EP + DS group) than in those without depressive symptoms (EP-DS group, p < 0.05). Additionally, the FC between the right hippocampus and the bilateral cerebellum was significantly greater in the EP + DS group than in the EP-DS group (p < 0.05). Moreover, abnormal ReHo values in the bilateral frontal lobes, including the right anterior cingulate cortex, and changes in the FC between the right hippocampus and the bilateral frontal lobes were found in the EP + DS group. Minor changes in the FC between the temporal and parietal lobes were also found in the epilepsypatients. CONCLUSION: The functional right hippocampus-cerebellum circuit might contribute to the pathogenesis of depressive symptoms in epilepsy, with the exception of brain areas associated with emotion such as the frontal and temporal lobes. Modulating the hippocampus-cerebellum circuit is a potential therapeutic strategy for epilepsypatients with depressive symptoms.